Jared Kushner Criticizes NBA Players Then Backtracks With Plan To Reach Out To LeBron James
Jared Kushner, who is a White House senior advisor and close personal friend of Adam Silver, spoke about the decision from NBA players to go on strike to protest the police killing of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Kushner\'s brother, Joshua Kushner, is also a minority shareholder of the Memphis Grizzlies.
“Look, I think that the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they’re able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially,” Kushner said. “So they have that luxury, which is great.”
Kushner added: “Look, I think with the NBA, there’s a lot of activism, and I think that they’ve put a lot of slogans out. But I think what we need to do is turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that’s going to solve the problem.”
Later Thursday morning, Kushner told Politico that while “it’s nice” to see the players speaking out, “I’d like to see them start moving into concrete solutions that are productive.”
Kushner was then reminded how LeBron James has made significant contributions beyond protesting, such as starting a school for at-risk kids and organizing a voter rights group.
“If LeBron James reached out to the White House, or we could reach out to him, we’re happy to talk with him and say, ‘Look, let’s both agree on what we want to accomplish and let’s come up with a common pathway to get there,’” Kushner said.
Kushner told Politico that he has not yet contacted James, but added, “I’ll reach out to him today.”
